final crunch aka final week of semester

Apparently during finals week I need both a San Pellegrino and coffee to get through my day. I'm kind of running on empty these days -- with a negative amount of energy -- which means I either need more coffee or more sleep. Or maybe both. Yes, both.

Freedom -- is three days away. Then again, if I don't finish my final papers, that's ok because I've got all of Thursday in which I can stay in my PJs and just work on them. Of course, I'd like to get them all done by Wednesday. And there's no French class on Wednesday, oh joys! I manage to get my memo done and now onto that awesome policy paper which should just not be 20-30 pgs long. That is just wrong. I was going to start and do half of it yesterday --- which ended up being total fail, due to my lack of energy, lack of motivation and spring fever.

And now that school is coming to an end, time to get outside running once more. Actually, I did go for a run last Friday and Saturday when the weather was relatively nice. Nice -- being mid-upper 60s in Monterey. I was talking to my best friend who lives around the Sacramento Area -- and it's freaking 80-90s over there. I can't wait to get myself up to Davis next week. Omgaaaah, it's so close I can smell the freedom!

After finals, it's going to be a mad cramming and studying for Russian. I just had a Russian SILP oral interview last week. Whooooooo---nonotreally. The test was conducted by my teacher from last summer. So I wasn't actually that nervous and just used what I learned last summer to talk to her. Overall, it went really well. So now, I must REVIEW ALL THE CASES. The never-ending torture of Russian. Except I guess it wouldn't be torture if I love it that much. I just can't wait for it. Can't you feel my excitement oozing out of the screen? Ahahaha.

So it's almost a year since I left France. During that time, I just can't stop thinking about life in Lyon. I remember the spring time there, the smell, the sound, the colors, the weather. I remember strolling along the quai, Vieux Lyon, running up to Fourviere for piano lessons. I remember going on bike rides with Anca, playing trio with Milena and our other lovely violin partner. I remember the concerts, the constant yet enjoyable rehearsals with Ilona for our 4 hand piece that was 20 mins long. I remember the fresh salads I made every day, the baguettes I got, the yogurt I ate everyday with museli, the cheese I ate. Oh, I also remember the cheese I bought to spoil myself -- tomato pesto cheese. It was delicious.

I've been told that I am a bit too optimistic for the nonproliferation program. Hmmmm. I've never thought about that before. Meh, I'd rather remain optimistic than become a pessimistic. Oh well, I can't change, and I don't want to. Being an optimistic is just so much easier.